The Background of the Invention section in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,293 B2, granted Jun. 10, 2003, and the patent itself, are incorporated herein to form the Background of the Invention section of this patent.
My U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,293 B2 discloses an upper clamp member designated 52 in FIG. 14 of that patent which fits into the conveyor slat that is designated 70 in FIG. 14 of that patent. Inwardly directed bottom flanges 78, 80 on the conveyor slat 70 are disposed vertically between a first or upper clamp member 52 and a second or lower clamp member 54 that is carried by the transverse drive beam 56. U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,293 discloses pulling the two clamp members 52, 54 relatively together by use of vertical bolts that when tightened draw the two clamp members 52, 54 towards each other and into clamping engagement with the slat flanges 78, 80. In one embodiment, the bolts extend vertically upwardly and thread into openings in the upper clamp member 52. This construction is shown by FIG. 10 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,293 B2, for example. In another embodiment, the bolts extend downwardly through the clamp members 52″, 54″. A nut 230 is attached to the lower end of each bolt 226 and is rotated to draw the two clamp members 52″, 54″ together and into clamping engagement with the lower flanges of the conveyor slat.
The two embodiments disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,293 B2, require access from below to either a bolt head or a nut that is positioned inside of the transverse drive beam. There is a need for a system for drawing the two clamping members together that does not require access from below to either a bolt head or a nut located inside of the transverse drive beam. There is a need for a clamp operating apparatus that includes an adjustment screw that is accessible from one end of the drive beam and is rotatable to cause the two clamp members to move relatively together into clamping engagement with the lower flanges of the conveyor slat. The principal object of the present invention is to fill these needs.